A starting device of the above kind is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,127,098. The operation of such a starting device often presents difficulties because periodically high reaction forces occur as a result of the compression in the engine during starting. This causes changing forces which are temporarily very high to act on the hand of the operator. The force peaks acting on the handle of the starting device are that much greater the lighter the rotating masses of the engine are.
It is known for pull-rope starting devices for internal combustion engines that the periodically occurring high reaction forces can be prevented when the rope is wound on an oval or cornered disc of the clutch drum so that different pulling forces result when pulling the handle while unwinding the rope. These pulling forces are adapted to the fluctuating reaction torque. In this connection, reference can be made to U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,942,599 and 3,814,073. The arrangement requires a precise dimensioning, assembly and correlation of the winding of the rope disc in dependence upon the engine to be started. The constructive and manufacturing complexity for a starting device of this kind is therefore very great.